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Friday, October 30, 2015

Unpoppable Balloon Experiment


What can you do with a basic party balloon and a bamboo skewer? Amaze your kids, that's what!


This science experiment takes just a few minutes but is sure to ignite kids' curiosity.

How to Do It
Blow your balloon up and tie it. Max out the balloon at medium size so the skewer will be long enough to fit through each side of the balloon.

With the pointy end of the skewer, drive it through the thick part of the balloon (i.e. the end at the bottom of the balloon opposite the tie). This will take a fair amount of force.

Once it penetrates the balloon's skin, push it through the balloon so it pierces the latex near where you've tied the balloon. 


Shocked it didn't pop?

Yeah, we were too!

WHOA! How'd it do that?
The rubber molecules in the balloon close up around the skewer when you puncture it in its thickest part, sealing around it. Our balloon did leak air, but never popped as we expected.

This experiment came from Design Squad. Check out this great video for further explanation.


1 comment:

  1. So neat! Going to try it with Cub Scouts tomorrow!

    ReplyDelete